Perhaps realizing that her attitude had been a little off, Sakurajima Mai fell silent.
She quietly walked ahead without saying where she was going, and the two of them simply wandered aimlessly down the street.
Ryuya didn't mind. He was free all day anyway—wasting a bit of time wasn't a big deal to him.
Just then, the rumble of an engine echoed behind them—a motorcycle was speeding their way.
Ryuya stepped aside instinctively, but Mai, lost in thought, didn't react in time.
The motorcyclist, unable to see her at all, was on a straight collision course.
At the last moment, Ryuya reached out without hesitation and pulled Mai into his arms.
The motorcycle roared past them with a deafening burst of wind and noise, vanishing from sight moments later.
With his arm still around her slender waist, Ryuya looked down—only to find himself staring straight into Mai's eyes.
Their gazes locked for a brief moment. Then Ryuya calmly released her and said softly,
"That kind of situation could've been really dangerous."
Mai nodded. This invisible state of hers truly was a troubling one.
"…Thanks."
Ryuya waved it off lightly and continued walking beside her.
"Besides what just happened, I'm guessing there are a lot of other inconveniences too, huh?" he asked, glancing sideways at Mai's elegant profile.
"There are. For example, not being able to buy the cream bread from that bakery."
She spoke in a quiet tone, her eyes settling on a small bakery a short distance away.
Of course, the inconveniences of being unseen went far beyond not being able to buy bread—but she chose to mention the simplest, most trivial example, as if trying to keep things light.
Ryuya glanced at the bakery, then suddenly took her hand and walked forward.
"Two cream breads, please," he said at the counter.
The clerk smiled brightly. "Of course, just a moment."
A short while later, two warm cream breads were placed into Ryuya's hands.
Not once did the clerk glance toward where Mai was standing—clearly, she couldn't see her at all.
"Here," Ryuya said, passing one of the breads to Mai.
"Thanks."
"No need to thank me. That'll be two hundred yen—cash or transfer?"
"...??" Mai blinked, completely dumbfounded.
Seeing her face, Ryuya winked. "What? After all the effort I've gone through today, treating me to lunch isn't too much to ask, right?"
Mai's expression froze, speechless.
"Who asks someone out, pays for them first, and then calls it a treat afterward?"
"As long as someone else pays, it counts as being treated," Ryuya said with a playful smirk.
Mai sighed, refusing to let him have the last laugh. She responded calmly,
"Next time, I'll treat you."
So in other words—this time counts as me treating you, right?
"…Fine, fine," Ryuya shrugged with mock defeat.
By now, the two of them had reached the riverside. They stood by the embankment, watching the gentle current as they ate their cream bread.
Across the river, a giant screen on an office building flickered to life—broadcasting a new commercial.
And the person on that screen was none other than Sakurajima Mai herself.
She wore a flowing white dress, her face glowing with a bright, cheerful smile as she stood amidst a sea of flowers. The wind lifted her hair and skirt gently as she spoke sweetly about a matcha product…
Ryuya couldn't even be bothered to comment on the cheesy ad.
But seeing the difference between the radiant idol on the screen and the quiet girl standing beside him—he couldn't help but think that for her fans, this moment would probably feel like a dream come true.
Ryuya had to admit—Mai really was photogenic.
But in person, her aura was far sharper, more mature than the radiant image on the screen.
Beside him, Sakurajima Mai was staring blankly at her own face on the opposite billboard, lost in thought.
Ryuya glanced at her and couldn't help curling his lips.
…He didn't know what kind of story lay behind that look of hers, but the frustration and unwillingness in her eyes was practically overflowing.
"It's strange, isn't it? The ads are still running, yet no one remembers you anymore."
Finishing the rest of his cream bread in a few casual bites, Ryuya spoke lazily, eyes half-squinted against the sunlight.
Mai said nothing. She just kept her gaze fixed on the commercial across the river.
Looks like she won't wake up unless I push harder, Ryuya thought.
He tilted his eyes slightly and said in an offhand tone,
"I don't know what you're trying to avoid, but… you still want to return to the entertainment world, don't you?"
"…When did I ever say that?"
"The way you're looking at that poster already gave you away." His voice was calm, as though he were merely stating a fact while dismantling her defenses piece by piece.
"I just… pay attention to these kinds of things, that's all."
"And you kind of miss the feeling of being on set, right?"
…Right on the mark.
Mai froze, staring at Ryuya. Does this demon have the power to read minds or something? she wondered.
But before she could even say anything, Ryuya continued as if he'd heard her thoughts.
"I don't have telepathy. You're just really easy to read. You sure you don't want to try coming back? I bet there are still a lot of people waiting for you."
"…"
That feeling of being completely seen through—how infuriating.
"What do you know anyway? You're not even human," she said flatly, glaring at him with those slightly upturned eyes, clearly irritated now.
"Heh… True, I'm not human anymore," Ryuya replied with a faint smile, "but saying I don't understand? That would be a mistake."
Then he lowered his voice. "It's because of your family, isn't it?"
Walking straight into the minefield—Ryuya sure was fearless.
As expected, Mai snapped.
"You're so annoying!"
With that, she turned around and started walking up the embankment steps toward the street.
"Not going to check around the area anymore?" he called after her.
"I said I'm going home!"
She was definitely angry now—her voice trembled with restrained fury.
Ryuya followed her at an unhurried pace. No matter how fast she walked, he always managed to keep up effortlessly, a picture of calm.
Mai eventually noticed he was still tailing her. After walking and stopping several times over the course of ten minutes without managing to shake him off, she finally turned around.
Looking at Ryuya standing there, hands in his pockets, wearing that relaxed expression, she couldn't help feeling both irritated and amused.
"Are you really a demon, or just a piece of stubborn gum that won't come off?"
Ryuya ignored the jab and chuckled, smiling leisurely. "Feeling better now?"
"I wasn't angry to begin with."
Instant denial.
That attitude of hers—somehow, it was actually kind of cute.
Ryuya hid a small laugh, cleared his throat, and said,
"I didn't mean to dig into your wounds, but I do hope we can be honest with each other."
Then, as if realizing his own words might be misunderstood, he quickly added,
"Ah—by 'honest with each other,' I mean literally honest. Nothing weird, don't get the wrong idea."
Mai rolled her eyes, exhaling in exasperation.
"…If you can avoid saying useless things, then don't say them."
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